Incredibly Foreign, Comfortingly Familiar
by BBC Addict
Summary: "The Doctor strode off in search of the reason the TARDIS had brought him here. It had taken the Doctor a long time to realize that the TARDIS didn't randomly drop him off. She took him where he needed to go." Oneshot, may have sequel/follow-up pieces if the muse is willing.


The Doctor barely reacted as the TARDIS materialized. He was tired—tired of saving the world, tired of traveling, tired of losing his best friends, no matter what the reason. Still, the pull of the unknown hadn't lost all of its power over the Doctor. With no companion, he didn't bother to check the scanner before he left the TARDIS—his was the only safety to consider and, frankly, he didn't value that too highly at the moment. He took a few steps before his senses kicked in. Vegetation and atmosphere revealed he was on Earth. The lack of pollution also narrowed down the era. A wind send a chill through him and that was all that it took for him to realize where exactly on Earth he was. Scotland.

Hunching a little further into his overcoat, the Doctor strode off in search of the reason the TARDIS had brought him here. It had taken the Doctor a long time to realize that the TARDIS didn't randomly drop him off. She took him where he needed to go.

As the Doctor glanced about, he felt he'd seen the area before—which was entirely possible. A little farther and he could detect the sounds of human suffering. Moments later, he began seeing men stretched out in unnatural poses scattered about. Some were dead, the rest dying. The Doctor's heart sank as a suspicion of when he'd landed flitted across his mind.

The Doctor eagerly, desperately, glanced at each face at he walked quickly on, searching for one in particular. He knew it would be close by—the TARDIS would have made sure of that. Finally, just below the crest of a hill, the Doctor spotted what he'd been searching for. He sprinted up the small hill and knelt beside the young man, who moaned as the Doctor gently turned him over. "Jamie."

The Doctor whipped out his sonic screwdriver and passed it over Jamie a few times. His injuries weren't too severe. The Doctor pulled out a restorative from him pocket and held it briefly under Jamie's nose. Jamie coughed and sputtered as he regained consciousness. He immediately went on the alert, grasping around for his dirk or any other weapon he could lay his hands on.

"Take it easy. I'm not a redcoat, I won't hurt you," the Doctor said, trying to calm the fierce Scot down.

Jamie relaxed only slightly. "You sound like one." He studied his companion. "But I've never a redcoat dressed like that."

"Oi! What's wrong with how I'm dressed?" the Doctor demanded. Jamie looked at him quizzically. The Doctor shook his head. "It's not important. We need to get you taken care of."

Jamie vehemently shook his head. "I'm fine."

"You're far from fine. Just look at yourself."

"I've had worse."

"Oh, Jamie. I'd forgotten how stubborn you can be," the Doctor muttered under his breath.

"What? I've never met you before," Jamie said, suddenly suspicious.

"Well, I suppose you haven't met _me_. But you have met me. Though of course, you don't remember." The Doctor jumped to his feet. "That's why the TARDIS brought me here. She saw that you needed help and she knew I could use an old friend. Five hundred years for me, only a day for you..."

Jamie had gone quiet at the word TARDIS—he'd never heard that word before, but it reminded him of something just out of reach. He closed his eyes and tried his best to remember, but he couldn't get anything solid. He caught only glimpses and flashes that were gone in an instant. He groaned at the sudden pain in his head.

Jamie's groan pulled the Doctor out of his babbling reverie. "Come on. You need a doctor."

'Doctor' rattled around in Jamie's mind, seeking to connect with something. The pain in his head intensified and he gave up thinking about it.

"Can you walk?" the Doctor asked.

"Aye," he managed, weakly. The Doctor offered Jamie a hand and after a few unsuccessful attempts at rising on his own, Jamie took it. After stumbling along in silence for a time, Jamie finally asked, "Where are we going?"

The Doctor smiled cryptically. "Somewhere safe."

Jamie didn't have the energy to inquire farther. He simply trudged slowly behind the Doctor, hoping they would arrive soon so he wouldn't collapse in the company of this strange man.

Just as Jamie thought his legs were about to give out, the Doctor stopped short. "Here we are, home sweet home." He made a face. "Let's not use that expression again. Shall we?" he asked, looking at Jamie and holding a key in his hand.

Jamie tried to nod, but the sight of the blue wooden box caused his head to throb anew. The Doctor wasn't looking at Jamie's response, anyway, as he proceeded to unlock the door and pull Jamie in after him.

"Now, then, you just sit there and I'll be back in two ticks," the Doctor said, depositing Jamie on the captain's chair. "Don't wander off. And don't touch anything," he added, wagging a finger.

Jamie wasn't tempted in the least to wander anywhere. He head hurt, his muscles ached, and his wounds stung. He tried to distract himself by gazing about. He was in a large chamber, seated on a funny sort of chair mounted on a strange type of floor that had holes in it. The coppery walls were covered in six-sided shapes and the centerpiece of the room defied explanation. A central column glowed blue, surrounded by an intimidating array of knobs. The whole contraption seemed incredibly foreign, yet comfortingly familiar.

"Here we are, then. Drink this, swallow this, hold onto that," the Doctor said, cheerily, thrusting a cup and a bottle and something Jamie couldn't identify into Jamie's hands and lap. "Hold still, this will sting," he added, jabbing Jamie with a needle. The jab caused Jamie to jump and everything he'd been handed went flying.

"Jamie, look what you've done!" the Doctor cried, scrambling to retrieve the pills and right the upset cup of tea.

"It wasn't my fault, Doctor," Jamie burst out. "That's your problem, isn't it, you get so many things going at once you forget what you've done or where you've left things." Jamie frowned. "Why did I say that?"

The Doctor sprang up, leaving behind the pills and upsetting the tea again. He bent down, pulling up Jamie's eyelids, looking inside his mouth, and finally putting both hands on Jamie's temples. "You're remembering, Jamie!" He grinned and Jamie felt the inexplicable desire to grin, too. "That's brilliant! Bits and pieces will probably keep surfacing until it all comes back. Haha, I knew that mind-wipe tool of theirs would never work. Human beings!" he cried, pacing excitedly back and forth, mussing his hair.

Jamie watched the Doctor. He couldn't explain anything that had just happened, but he knew he was in the TARDIS, with the Doctor, and that there was nowhere else he'd rather be.


End file.
